How poor office furniture can reduce office efficiency?

14 October 2015

How poor office furniture can reduce office efficiency?

When it comes to choosing office furniture there is a lot to take into account, your furnishings help to create your office environment and this reflects upon your business as a whole! Some could argue that your furnishings are as equally important as your actual business location.

Outdated, ugly office furniture can have the same reflection on your business and make your office appear cramped and outdated to employees and customers alike. When ordering office furniture the overall design of your office space needs to be taken into consideration, there are so many options available in terms of shapes, finishes and styles that price should not be the overall winning factor (although this obviously helps)!

Choosing the right pieces of office furniture can really help reduce the amount of time wasted during the working day. A productive office needs more than desks, computers and office chairs…

Storage that is designed to meet the user’s needs, whether this be in the form of open bookcases, filing cabinets or double door cupboards can really reduce the time spent looking for files and folders. Organisation and minimised clutter enables easy identification of the required documents.

An uncomfortable chair can cause employee discomfort and lead to back problems and days taken off for sick leave. Look for good quality ergonomic chairs that promote good posture and your employees will spend more time focussing on their work rather than their aches and pains.

Careful consideration should be taken when planning the location and positioning of individual workstations. Individual departments and people have different needs so taking these into account and catering to them as much as possible can really aid productivity.

Statistics

The way an office is set-up from individual workstation through to the lighting and ventilation can really have an effect on the productivity of staff. Here are some facts that may get you thinking…

Multiple computer screens increase productivity and efficiency by 9 to 50 percent, especially when it comes to tasks such as cutting and pasting. According to a study by VIBE.

Comfortable, well-ventilated and well-lit, safe workplaces increase productivity as much as 16 percent and job satisfaction as much as 24 percent, while reducing absenteeism studies found.

The Center for the Built Environment, researchers found “some evidence” that poor ventilation decreased productivity in a call center.

RPI conducted a study that found, workers in windowed offices were shown to spend 15 percent more time staying on task than colleagues in windowless offices.

The average person wastes 4.3 hours per week searching for papers, which adds stress and frustration to the workplace while reducing concentration and creative thinking, so studies show.

So all in all poor office furniture selection really does reduce office efficiency. If you are in the process of moving or re-furnishing your office, take some time to think about how your office space will work and how it will benefit your employees, and the productivity of your company. The impression you are creating to any visitors that may come by is also an important factor.